NextGen
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I'm new to this site, but when I saw this sub-forum, I thought I'd go ahead and share with everyone my educational experiences in brief. Growing up, I attended mainstreamed classes while still a student under the deaf programs at all the schools I went to prior to going to Gallaudet University (1998 to 2001). To this day, I am appreciative of the educational opportunities that I was exposed to while in a mainstream setting, as it allowed me to enrich my command over the English language, as well as to expand my intellectual side.
When I went to Gallaudet, my first semester there wasn't particularly good, largely due to my disappointment at the level of classes that were available there. Still, I knew that I had made a decision to go there, and I decided to stick it out, which I'm glad I did, because I made sure to tailor Gallaudet to my own needs (i.e. consulting with professors, taking Honors courses, and picking psychology as my major there; the department there was one of the best-staffed ones). I ended up graduating with cum laude honors, so it all turned out good.
I can say with certainty that I learned immensely from that very experience. But of course, as anyone generally knows, education isn't just about classes; it's also about life experience and what you choose to get out of it. Being at Gallaudet and in an predominantly Deaf environment added to my overall worldview and framework of mind, I believe, and it made me a better person today than what or who I could've turned out to be had I not gone.
When I graduated from Gallaudet, I applied to a major hearing university in the Midwest for their Master's program in counseling, and got accepted. I was the only deaf graduate student there at the time (as far as I know), and out of a student body of around 20,000, I and a rough estimate of around 10 to 15 truly Deaf students were definitely in the minority. Because of the occasional "isolation" I would be shrouded in due to there being so many hearing students around me and so few deaf peers to befriend, I harkened back to when I was living primarily in the hearing world prior to attending Gallaudet. It was this that solidified what I value as being a balance between Deaf and hearing ideals, concepts, and guidelines inside of me.
Overall, I think that I've had a pretty fair experience, to say the least. Is there anyone else who's had similar experiences to that of mine, or at least can extend an appropriate type of sentiment that's commensurate with the experience I just outlined here? Should be interesting ...
When I went to Gallaudet, my first semester there wasn't particularly good, largely due to my disappointment at the level of classes that were available there. Still, I knew that I had made a decision to go there, and I decided to stick it out, which I'm glad I did, because I made sure to tailor Gallaudet to my own needs (i.e. consulting with professors, taking Honors courses, and picking psychology as my major there; the department there was one of the best-staffed ones). I ended up graduating with cum laude honors, so it all turned out good.
I can say with certainty that I learned immensely from that very experience. But of course, as anyone generally knows, education isn't just about classes; it's also about life experience and what you choose to get out of it. Being at Gallaudet and in an predominantly Deaf environment added to my overall worldview and framework of mind, I believe, and it made me a better person today than what or who I could've turned out to be had I not gone.
When I graduated from Gallaudet, I applied to a major hearing university in the Midwest for their Master's program in counseling, and got accepted. I was the only deaf graduate student there at the time (as far as I know), and out of a student body of around 20,000, I and a rough estimate of around 10 to 15 truly Deaf students were definitely in the minority. Because of the occasional "isolation" I would be shrouded in due to there being so many hearing students around me and so few deaf peers to befriend, I harkened back to when I was living primarily in the hearing world prior to attending Gallaudet. It was this that solidified what I value as being a balance between Deaf and hearing ideals, concepts, and guidelines inside of me.
Overall, I think that I've had a pretty fair experience, to say the least. Is there anyone else who's had similar experiences to that of mine, or at least can extend an appropriate type of sentiment that's commensurate with the experience I just outlined here? Should be interesting ...
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